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Dickson mayor suspends council meeting, eases sign restrictions

An order suspending the Dickson Council meeting for April and an order assisting local businesses by easing sign restrictions were recently issued by Dickson Mayor Don Weiss Jr.

Weiss issued four executive orders on Friday as part of the city’s continuing response to the COVID-19 national health emergency.

Executive Order 2020-3 suspends the meeting of the Dickson City Council and Beer Board scheduled for April 6 until such time as it can be rescheduled safely or the next regular meeting of the council on May 4.

Executive Order 2020-6 issued Friday is designed to assist local businesses in dealing with the impact of the COVID-19 virus by suspending regulations on temporary freestanding signs and signs on sidewalks.

The order allows businesses to place temporary signs at their businesses as long as a Local State of Emergency remains in effect. The signs cannot interfere with or create a traffic safety hazard and cannot be placed on Tennessee Department of Transportation right-of-way.

“Many of our businesses, especially restaurants, are struggling with restrictions placed on how they do business or adjusting to reduced public demand caused by the health emergency,” Weiss said. “This order will allow those businesses to put up temporary signs advertising hours of operation, curbside pickup or other ways those businesses are trying to survive.”

The city already has placed signs in front of several downtown restaurants designating parking spaces for pickup service only.

“The city administration is looking every day at possible ways we can assist our citizens and businesses during this crisis. We’re already seeing tremendous impact on jobs and some of our local businesses are struggling to remain open,” Weiss said. “The advisory committee will continue to assess the latest data and provide recommendations on the best ways to protect the public.”

The mayor said that Gov. Bill Lee’s directive calls for governing bodies to reschedule meetings or look at alternative means of conducting them that won’t create unnecessary risk while remaining open to the public.

“We are continuing to investigate our options for conducting our meetings remotely, but after evaluating the business on the agenda for April, I decided it would be in the best interest of our council, administration and the citizens to suspend the meeting,” Weiss said. “If the situation improves significantly, we can reschedule the meeting before the end of the month or meet on the next regular date on the first Monday in May.”

While most of the business scheduled for the April meeting can be postponed to May 4, Weiss issued Executive Orders for items that need to be addressed temporarily.

Executive Order No. 2020-4 extends the effective dates of three current beer permits for which new applications were to be considered at the April 6 meeting.

Tri-Star Energy LLC is purchasing Sudden Service #0021 at 2323 Highway 46 South and Sudden Service #0048 at 2331 Highway 46 South from Hollingsworth Oil Co. With the sale to take place in April, state law states beer permits are terminated at the point of a change in ownership.

The same order extends the current beer permit for Dickson Lodge No. 2035 Loyal Order of Moose, which is moving from 101 Oak Park Drive to 3401 Highway 70 West. The statute also states beer permits are terminated upon relocation of the business.

“By extending the existing permits until the next meeting of the Dickson Beer Board, those transactions and relocation can continue as planned without forcing them to lose the sale of beer,” Weiss said. “The vote on their applications for new permits has been delayed through no fault of the organizations involved and I don’t believe they should suffer because of that.”

Executive Order No. 2020-5 extends the appointment of Doris Grigsby to the Dickson County Board of Equalization until the council can vote on her re-appointment. Grigsby’s two-year term on the board expires in April and she was scheduled to be re-appointed at the next council meeting.

“Mrs. Grigsby has graciously accepted appointment to a new two-year term and I believe it is important we officially maintain her term in the event that Dickson County Assessor of Property Jenny Martin needs the board of equalization to meet before the council can officially vote on the appointment,” Weiss said.

In a special session last week, the Dickson City Council unanimously approved an allocation of $400,000 from the city’s reserves to distribute to organizations that provide assistance such as food, medical care and other basic necessities. Weiss is currently considering the best options for those funds.